As I said, writing/blogging has always been a steep curve in regards to success on the web. It wasn’t so different before, starting from 2005s — there were many on the Internet and standing out was difficult. Despite a lot of tools have become available now and everything is much easier, there are many more people writing, blogging, so its similarly — maybe more — difficult. So your point holds for that angle.

However…

Would you be able to write as much as you did, if you were employed by someone else and you were told to write as many articles at a flat wage? Probably not…

So, writing for yourself is easier. But less rewarding financially. There is the problem…